OSHA reaches largest-of-its-kind settlement with Amazon over hazardous working conditions

OSHA reaches largest-of-its-kind settlement with Amazon over hazardous working conditions
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(NEW YORK) — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has reached a settlement with Amazon over allegations of hazardous workplace conditions, ABC News first reported Thursday. The settlement requires that Amazon adopt “corporate-wide ergonomic measures” to reduce the risk of injuries to workers.

The 10 facilities cited in the settlement, located in New York, Florida, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Illinois and New Jersey, all had a high number of complaints of workplace injury. Amazon will have to pay a $145,000 penalty, adopt workplace safety measures and allow OSHA access to inspect those facilities for the next two years, according to the terms of the settlement.

Though the settlement only mandates oversight on those 10 facilities, all Amazon facilities will be required to adopt new safety measures and provide procedures for their employees to voice their concerns about workplace conditions.

A Department of Labor official said the settlement is the “largest of its kind” and “will resolve all outstanding ergonomic litigation” by the agency against Amazon. The official noted, however, that the settlement will not affect the investigation into the company by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York over allegations Amazon conspired to conceal injuries and risks to workers at its warehouses. Amazon has denied those allegations.

“Today’s agreement acknowledges our progress and notes that we should keep implementing and following our existing comprehensive ergonomics policies and procedures,” Amazon said in a statement following the announcement of the settlement. “There isn’t a claim of wrong-doing on Amazon’s part for the withdrawn citations, nor a directive to adopt new safety controls. We appreciate OSHA’s willingness to consider all the facts and reach today’s agreement with us, and we look forward to continuing to work with them going forward.”

ABC News reached out to Amazon for additional comment.

This settlement comes as Amazon workers have gone on strike at facilities across the country, citing low pay, lack of benefits and poor conditions.

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2 killed, several hurt in Halloween night shooting in Orlando, mayor announces local state of emergency
2 killed, several hurt in Halloween night shooting in Orlando, mayor announces local state of emergency
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(ORLANDO, Fl) — The mayor of Orlando, Florida, is cracking down in the city’s entertainment district after two people were killed and several others injured in a Halloween night shooting.

The suspect, 17-year-old Jaylen Dwayne Edgar, has been taken into custody, Orlando police said.

Officers responded to reports of shots fired just after 1 a.m. Friday, and within minutes, the officers witnessed a second shooting, police said.

One person was killed at the first scene and the second victim was killed at the second scene, police said.

Nine people, aged 18 to 39, were injured, some critically, police said.

The suspect walked by more than 10 officers just before opening fire, Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith said.

Surveillance video captured the chaos of people fleeing the scene as officers apprehended the suspect.

Edgar has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm and six counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, police said.

A motive is unknown, Smith said.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said he’s issuing a local state of emergency for establishments in the downtown entertainment area, which will ban alcohol sales after midnight and implement a curfew from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

“It’s unfortunate that the changes in the state concealed weapons laws [in 2023] have made it even easier for people to carry guns,” Dyer said at a news conference.

“You can legally carry a firearm unless you fall into a certain kind of category: underage, convicted felon,” Smith explained. “For most people, it allows them, without getting a concealed weapons permit, to carry a gun concealed.”

ABC News’ Jason Volack contributed to this report.

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Fears for those with medical needs after Helene as search for missing continues
Fears for those with medical needs after Helene as search for missing continues
A cluster of broken pieces of wood from destroyed houses rest along a damaged bridge in Lake Lure, North Carolina, Oct. 2, 2024, after the passage of Hurricane Helene. (Allison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — At least 1,000 National Guard troops are heading into the most hard-hit areas in western North Carolina on Thursday in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene as the death toll from the storm approaches 200 with hundreds of people still unaccounted for.

“The nation has your back. We’re not leaving ‘til you’re back on your feet completely,” President Joe Biden said on Wednesday after surveying the mass destruction from the storm in North and South Carolina.

Helene is now the deadliest mainland hurricane to strike the United States since Katrina in 2005 which claimed the lives of nearly 1,400 people.

More than a million people still don’t have power and a nearly completely dark strip marks the path of Helene through the Southeast as the crisis over getting access to drinkable water is growing.

Vice President Kamala Harris met with local authorities and grieving families in Augusta, Georgia, on Wednesday.

“It is particularly devastating in terms of the loss of life that this community has experienced, the loss of normalcy,” Harris said.

Elsewhere, new video captured the moment a landslide hit a house in Newland, North Carolina, as Helene trampled the Southeast.

In Fairview, Connecticut, Philip Morgan showed ABC News the system of ropes he has had to create to rappel the terrain since the bridge to his neighborhood was wiped out.

Morgan’s brother is on a ventilator and in dire need of supplies as Philip Morgan says it is only a matter of time before his brother will need to be moved.

“[My biggest fear is] something happening to him and not being able to get out of here fast enough,” Morgan told ABC News.

Meanwhile, nearby at Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, 400 nurses arrived in buses from across the country — even as far as Alaska — all to lend a helping hand in the aftermath of the sheer destruction of the storm.

“They showed up with a smile on their face. Eager to help, eager just to give us a little bit of reprieve,” said Matt Alligood, a resident nurse at Mission Hospital. “So, it’s … it’s been amazing.”

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World leaders unite for Notre Dame Cathedral’s reopening 5 years after devastating fire
World leaders unite for Notre Dame Cathedral’s reopening 5 years after devastating fire
Chesnot/Getty Images

(PARIS) — In a rare moment of unity, world leaders convened on Saturday to attend the ceremonial reopening of the famed Notre Dame Cathedral in France.

Five years after flames engulfed the historic site in the center of Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed “gratitude” to those who saved, helped and rebuilt Notre Dame.

The ceremony was attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including first lady Jill Biden, President-elect Donald Trump, Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The first lady was the official U.S. representative after President Joe Biden declined an invitation to attend the ceremony, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, citing a scheduling conflict.

Trump kicked off his first foreign trip since his reelection and met with Macron at the Elysee Palace before the ceremony.

The meeting comes at a time when Macron’s government is undergoing a political crisis after his prime minister, Michel Barnier, resigned after facing a no-confidence vote. Macron, who became president in 2017, has vowed he will serve until the end of his term in 2027 despite facing calls from some to resign.

The cathedral, a landmark of Gothic architecture in the heart of France’s capital, was built around 1260 AD and stood for 850 years, seeing more visitors than the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre. Notre Dame attracted more than 13 million global tourists yearly prior to the fire.

Macron delivered on the famed promise he made while standing outside the scorched landmark days after the fire that it would be rebuilt in five years.

The rebuilding took 1,200 oak trees felled from forests across France to replace the framework of the roof and 1,000 construction workers.

Though Notre Dame is set to reopen to the public on Sunday with its first public mass, much of the construction is set to continue for years.

A criminal investigation into what started the fire is about to be completed, but so far no cause has been cited and an indictment hasn’t been issued from the Paris prosecutor’s office.

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